IC3 upp int SB answer key

Ian I don’t think I like the direction this discussion is going in.. sample answer Their body language is probably more open, more relaxed and more in sync with each other; there is mor

Would you excuse me a moment?

I’ll be right back

I’ll catch you later

f Students’ own answersConversation 2

a No

b Talking of races, how’s the South African bid going?

c 1 Glad you could make it

2 I wouldn’t have missed it for the world

3 There’s someone I’d like you to meet

4 Can’t have you standing there with an empty glass

5 So, who’s this person you wanted me to meet?

6 I see you two know each other already

7 I’ll leave you two to chat See you later

d They used to have a very close friendship

4, 5 & 6 Students’ own answers

Language links Vocabulary

Unit 1 Business or pleasure?

1, 2, 3 & 4 Students’ own answers

b Not at all Be my guest

c She complains about the music

d You’re joking!, You’re kidding!

e 1 Have we met somewhere before?

2 It’s not like me to forget a face

3 I thought I recognized you

4 It’s all coming back to me now

5 I seem to remember spending most of the evening

trying to avoid some annoying little guy called Alan

Conversation 2

a strained

b to introduce a change of topic

c paying Mr Ishida a compliment

d 1 I hear you’re quite a tennis fan

2 I understand the Japanese are world table tennis

champions

3 I see the Nikkei’s looking strong That must be

good news for you

a posh, irritating, she’s fussy, he’s long-suffering

b 1 Please call me Dan

2 A pleasure to meet you both at last

3 Julian’s mentioned your name, of course

4 You don’t mind me calling you Fiona, do you?

Answer key

Making things clear

1 See page 137 of the Student’s book for suggested answers

2 & 3

a 4 b 6 c 2 d 8

e 7 f 3 g 1 h 5

4 & 5 Students’ own answers

Queries and comments

1

1 The meeting is an hour and a half long, not an hour

2 The company pays employees twice as much as its competitors, not three times

3 The project was supposed to take 16 weeks, not three months

4 He said the company isn’t doing well in the Far East, yet China is its biggest market

5 She said she doesn’t want to bring in people from outside the company but is thinking of bringing in her golf partner to help them out

2 Students’ own answers

3

a Are you saying they’ve fallen short of projections again?

b Are you suggesting we introduce price cuts?

c Surely you’re not saying it’s time to phase them out!

d Does this mean we should be investing more in new technology?

e Are you telling us there could be lay-offs?

f You mean some kind of job-share scheme?

g So you’re saying we should be spending more on R&D

h Does this mean you’re thinking of centralizing distribution?

i I hope you’re not suggesting the situation is hopeless

f the unions approve it

g crawl out of debt

b unless, and, providing

c If we’d done that a year ago, it might have stimulated demand

d It shows that the decision is unlikely

e I wish it was that simple

f We don’t want to invest in anything

2

1 know

2 is fast approaching

3 have not made

4 have already come

Phrase bank: Making conversation

1 start Tip one: a, e

2 bring Tip two: b, k

3 compliment Tip three: f, g

4 contradict Tip four: i, l

5 change Tip five: h, j

6 break Tip six: c, d

Unit 2 Information exchange

1 & 2 Students’ own answers

3 Students’ own answers

11 the bottom line

12 the big picture

training budgetsprice setting

IT support

b 3 provided I haven’t lost their address.

c 3 I’ll come with you

d 2 if you get the opportunity

e 1 if I wasn’t going out this evening

f 3 if you didn’t tell anyone about this

g 2 I’d be very surprised

h 3 if you hadn’t said you wanted to do it

i 3 I wouldn’t have had a chance

Phrase bank: Debating issues

so ridiculous that he is likely to alienate the teenager

2 Students’ own answers

b Jacob is an older man, probably conservatively dressed

He is tense and unsmiling, and does not make much eye contact His body language is closed or aggressive, with crossed arms Helena is a younger woman, perhaps more informally dressed She is intimidated by Jacob

so her body language is closed, nervous and restricted, hands and feet together

The language of meetings

b question – That’s irrelevant!

c view – What about me?

d point – Good point!

e option – That’s unimportant!

f idea – You’re wrong!

Breaking the bad news

1, 2 & 3 Students’ own answers

Language links

Vocabulary

1

Ian Sorry about that Had to take a phonecall from

Bangkok So, are we any nearer a decision?

Erik Not yet, but we’re getting there I think we’re more

or less on the right track, anyway

Sonia Are we? I’d say we’ve got a long way to go yet

We just seem to be going round in circles

Erik Well, we were making good progress before we got

sidetracked, Sonia Now, returning to the question

of logistics …

Ella Sorry, but could I just go back to what I was saying

earlier about freight charges?

Sonia Hang on, hang on Aren’t we getting ahead of

ourselves here? We haven’t got as far as discussing

transportation yet, Ella …

Erik We don’t seem to be getting very far at all!

Ian The conversation seems to have drifted a little

while I was away … I can’t quite see where all this

is heading

Erik We’ve certainly wandered away from the main

topic Now, logistics …

Sonia I was just coming to that In my opinion, this

whole plan is totally impractical

Ian I don’t think I like the direction this discussion is

going in Okay, look, we’ve covered a lot of ground

this morning, but I think that’s about as far as we

can go at the moment

Erik Now, just a minute! We haven’t come this far to

break off now, surely …

a We don’t stand on ceremony around here

power distance

b That’s one very busy woman! Your assistant?

age and gender roles

c So, you meeting the Minister today?

Ed does seem to understand Blue Rock’s culture In fact,

he is not really aware of potential differences with GWA

Ed and Jack do not suspend judgement of the other culture They are quick to judge the other’s culture

For example, Ed says: ‘Not a very happy little organization, then, are we?’ Jack says: ‘You’re worried that we take our work more seriously than you do, is that it?’

Both Ed and Jack do a similar job It is likely that they share a strong desire to help people However, they do not identify common goals and attitudes

Ed cannot resist the temptation to make converts

He suggests that GWA have to adapt to Blue Rock, not Blue Rock to GWA: ‘I’ll tell you this, if everybody at GWA is like you and your boss, you’re going find it hard to fit in here!’

At the end of the scene, Ed and Jack’s language becomes insensitive; they use ‘I’ and ‘you’, rather than trying to

be inclusive by using ‘we’ They both give up trying to

be objective and positive For example, Jack says: ‘What makes you think you have the right to judge us?’; Ed says:

‘if that’s how you want to play it, don’t say I didn’t try.’

Neither Ed nor Jack were objective or positive

7

Suggested answer

a They are more conscious of their differences and both more prepared to make concessions and find satisfactory compromises

b They decide to suggest drawing up some cultural guidelines

a Jacob is keen to implement the new policy without

question He feels Helena is not important enough

to need to remember her name Helena feels the new

policy does not take her staff’s special circumstances

into account She feels Jacob is unsympathetic and

impatient

b They fail to build rapport because neither of them is

willing or able to make concessions and move towards

the other’s communication style

Jacob is less aggressive, his voice is progressively less deep

and less loud as he starts to mirror Helena

Helena is less hesitant, she speaks less quietly, lowers her

pitch and speeds up delivery to mirror Jacob

(sample answer) Their body language is probably more

open, more relaxed and more in sync with each other;

there is more eye contact, more facial expression and

a NGOs (non-governmental organizations) working to

develop sustainable solutions to water, sanitation and

hygiene problems in the developing world

b to achieve synergies and build a stronger organization

with more resources, more expertise and more diverse

talents

c to ask everybody to cooperate and make the move go

smoothly

d differences in customs and attitudes, for example,

relating to time, dress code, power distance,

communication style, working methods and

administrative procedures, and use of space and

resources

3

All the cultural differences are illustrated or referred

to except personal space

a Students’ own answers

b how to speak effectively and relate to an audience

c self-belief

d Students’ own answers

8, 9 & 10 Students’ own answers

Language links Vocabulary

kitchen knives went up sharply but the housing market totally collapsed After a nervous start …

medical supplies quickly recovered the automotive industry rallied

and vacuum cleaners also picked up after lunch

In some of the fiercest trading seen in the City …swimwear plunged mining equipment hit rock bottom

ice skates slipped a little and the market for raisins completely dried up

By close of trade …fireworks skyrocketed but paper products were stationary

men’s socks remained unchanged and theatre curtains fell dramatically

Unit 4 Voice and visuals

1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 Students’ own answers

One thing you’ll immediately notice is that …

I’d particularly like to draw your attention to …

I’d also like to point out …

And perhaps I should mention …

Context

Just to give you some of the background to this, …

To put this into some kind of perspective, …

Conclusions

Clearly then, what these figures show is …

The lesson we can learn from this is …

4 Students’ own answers

Voice

1 Students’ own answers

2

a 1 (fluent and confident)

b 2 (fluent but boring)

c 3 (hesitant)

d 1 (fluent and confident)

e 2 (fluent but boring)

We tend to pause after stressed words

a There’s a whole market | in Eastern Europe | just there

for the taking

d Net profits | are up ninety-seven per cent | – yes, |

ninety- | seven | per cent

6 Students’ own answers

c Good Anything else or is that it?

5, 6 & 7 Students’ own answers

I did ask you some time ago for this report and, as you know, I do need it urgently for Thursday’s meeting with the people from head office

This is not the first time you’ve let me down and consequently I shall have to discuss the matter with you when your probationary period ends

I really must know today how much longer it’s going

I should like the delivery within 48 hours together with an apology Otherwise I have no alternative but to hand the matter over to our legal department I hope I have made myself clear

9 Students’ own answers

b needn’t take, needn’t have taken

c didn’t need to wait, mustn’t wait

d would have studied

e would be, must have been

Unit 5 Problems on the phone

1 Students’ own answers

3, 4 & 5 Students’ own answers

Dealing with complaints

1 & 2 Students’ own answers

3

Suggested answer

greet and reassure the caller; get the details; listen and

empathize; suggest possible solutions; agree on a course

of action; end on a positive note

Phrase bank: On the phone

e Have you just

f Have you heard

g Good

2

a Anyway, …

b So, what can I do for you?

c I expect you’re calling about …

d Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?

3

a Would you mind

b Can you get hold of

c Could I ask you to

d Is there any chance of

e I don’t suppose you could

f Do you happen to have

g Are you absolutely sure you can’t

a I mustn’t keep you

b I’ll let you get on

c Someone’s just stepped into the office

d We must get together soon

e It’s been great talking to you

f I’ll have to let you go now

g I’ve got a call just come in on the other line

h Listen, I’m running a bit late

4 & 5 Students’ own answers

6

a Can you get hold of the organizers?

b I don’t suppose you remembered to put another

laptop in?

c Do you happen to have a phone number for the

promotions people?

d Is there any chance of sending someone else out here?

e I’ll check with Liz and see if she can spare Kim for a

few days

f I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise anything

g Would you mind getting some brochures to me in

j I’ll look into it the minute I get off the phone

k Could I ask you to hurry that up a bit, please?

l Would it help if we got a local Polish interpreter in?

m I’ll get on to that right away

b I wonder if you could help me?

c Could I ask you not to mention this to anyone else?

d Do you think I could ask you to do some overtime

next week?

e Would you like me to put in a good word for you?

f Would you mind not whistling while I’m trying to

concentrate?

g Do you mind if I leave early today?

h Would it help if I gave you a few days to think about it?

i Would you mind if I asked you a personal question?

j Do you happen to know when Mr Álvarez is

coming back?

k I don’t suppose you could lend me €50 until Friday,

could you?

a Lance His flight back from Chicago is delayed.

b to review last week’s talks; to decide whether to take the proposal further

Extract 2

c The commercial viability of the dotcoms

d Jack

e Pieter’sExtract 3

f Students’ own opinions

g Pieter to investigate logistics; Tania to find out about insurance

h the chair seems to be fairly effective

Opening the meeting

a Okay, let’s get started, then, shall we?

b Thanks for coming, everybody

Setting the agenda

c As I said in my email, the purpose of today’s meeting

is to …

d By the end of this meeting I’d like some kind of decision

on this

Managing the discussion

e We seem to be getting side-tracked here

f Can we go back to what we were discussing earlier?

g Okay, so just to summarize what we’ve said so far

Managing other speakers

h Jack, could Pieter just finish what he was saying?

i Okay, okay! Let’s all calm down, shall we?

j Tania, what’s your position on this?

Assigning follow-up tasks

k Pieter, can I leave that one with you?

l Tania, can you get back to me on that?

Closing the meeting

m I think that’s about as far as we can go at this stage

n I’m afraid we’ll have to stop it there

4

n I’m afraid we’ll have to stop it there

5 Students’ own answers

In the chair

Students’ own answers

Unit 6 Leading meetings

1 & 2 Students’ own answers

Ritz-Carlton: short stand-up meeting

Yahoo: the informal drinks and

snacks meetingMichaelides & Bednash Media: the non-stop meeting

7 Students’ own answers

Chairing skills

1 Students’ own answers

2

a open/close the meeting P

b welcome/introduce the participants P

c set/stick to the agenda C

d ask for/summarize points of view P

e establish/define the main goals C

f deliberate over/take the final decision C

g bring in/shut out other speakers P

h anticipate/avoid areas of conflict C

i identify/discipline troublemakers P

j work out/draw up an action plan C

k prioritze/assign follow-up tasks C/P

l explain/focus on the key issues C

3 Students’ own answers

4

Suggested answer

People listen to each other and have patience with each

other, respect each other’s views, try to reach a consensus

before making decisions; they deal with disagreements

diplomatically; people work as a team but respect each

other’s authority

5 Students’ own answers

Coaching is less effective for dealing with personal problems, especially problems that are not work-related.

2

Suggested answersThe man in the cartoon is like a coach in the sense that he helps the other man to get where he wants to go when he seems to be stuck On the other hand, coaches generally

do not provide solutions They try to get their client or coachee to discover the solutions for themselves

3

asking questions, listening, supporting, giving feedback, clarifying goals, facilitating commitment to goals, building rapport, using intuition, establishing priorities, showing empathy, focusing on action

4 Students’ own answers

Language links

Vocabulary

1

set up = establish, found, start up

take over = acquire, buy into, buy up

restructure = de-layer, rationalize, streamline

develop = build up, expand, grow

close down = liquidate, sell off, wind up

g rise in the cost of living

h rise in the standard of living

i stock market crash

Management scenario B:

Coach crash 1

Sample answersMost sports coaches use a ‘carrot and stick’ approach, motivating and encouraging the sportsperson to perform, but sometimes shouting at them so that they get angry and want to win

Business coaches usually encourage people to build on their successes They identify weaknesses more sensitively They certainly would not bully someone, as a sports coach might

2

a T to increase their contribution

b F it’s short notice

c F he won’t be back in London until Friday morning

d F it’s short notice, he puts pressure on her (it’s top priority), he’s not available to help her

d ‘These walls are thin.’ i.e very diplomatically

e 1 Peter refuses to share responsibility by putting the emphasis on Cassie not coming to him for help

2 Peter makes negative judgements about Cassie’s personal qualities Peter is insensitive

3 Sue uses an indirect question to be diplomatic

4 Sue makes a constructive suggestion

5, 6 & 7 Students’ own answers

8

Peter implements all points on the list

9

a Get permission to give feedback

b Invite the presenter to give feedback first

c Start with the positives

d Use questions and indirect language

e Try to agree on a specific action plan

10 Students’ own answers

5

guru = famous expert

expertise = expert knowledge

career-wise = concerning your career

soft skills = personal qualities and people skills

transitioning = changing

personality clashes = disagreements or conflicts between

people

burn-out = getting to a position where you have worked so

hard you are exhausted

personal hang-ups = fears or anxieties

obstacles = things preventing you from doing what you

want to do

hard-earned wisdom = knowledge you only gain by working

for a long time in a job, facing challenges and occasionally

making mistakes

paramount = of the greatest importance

hold-ups = delays

6

GOAL: 1 decide on the conversation topic

2 set objectives for the sessionREALITY: 3 describe the current situation

4 give examples of present challengesOPTIONS: 5 discuss alternatives

6 identify possible obstacles to those alternatives

WAY FORWARD: 7 commit to specific actions

8 put a timeframe on those actions

7 & 8

a O b W c G d R e O f G

g O h R i W j G k W l R

9

a He could focus more on what he can do for people,

rather than what they can do for him

b Do research on the people he’s going to meet, and find a

reason to contact them again

c He’d like to work on his networking

d Making sure he doesn’t end a conversation without

fixing an appointment

e He could do them a favour, e.g send them some

information, and then he has an excuse to contact

them again

f Getting better at going beyond small talk and doing

real business

g Nothing – but he needs to know more about the people

before he meets them

h He’s getting appointments with 30% of the people he’s

meeting

i Get his client research sorted out

j At least an eight, maybe a nine

k By the next meeting, in two weeks’ time

l Making the switch from small talk to business

a You should have all the technical information at your fingertips

b Give your presentation the personal touch

c You’ll get loads of interruptions, but just go with the flow

d Don’t get too carried away

e Have a few gimmicks up your sleeve

f It really is essential that you do your homework

7 Students’ own answers

1 Open the presentation

2 Outline the objectives

3 Arouse interest

4 Quote some relevant statistics

5 Identify a gap in the market

6 Introduce the new product

7 Describe the main product features

8 Sum up the key message

9 Ask for project approval

10 Lead into the Q & A session

b mere = surprisingly low; staggering = surprisingly high

c Nationwide survey: reasons given for not becoming a member of MaxOut Health Clubs

too busy = 53%

too embarrassed = 32%

too expensive = 15%

d Students’ own answers

Unit 8 Promoting your ideas

1 & 2 Students’ own answers

3 goes

4

you can’t think of anything = a (your mind goes blank)

your microphone doesn’t work properly = c (your mike

goes funny)

5

a You dry up completely

b Your equipment breaks down

c You run out of time

d You run over schedule

e You pace up and down

f Your wave your arms about

g Your heart speeds up

h Your legs turn to jelly

6 Students’ own answers

Audience analysis

1

USA 3 assertiveness, gimmicks, competitiveness,

humour

Germany 1 expertise, technical information,

PowerPoint, no jokes, detail

Japan 4 quiet confidence, thoroughness, formality,

sense of harmony, long-term commitment

UK 5 sense of humour, knowledge, storytelling,

not too technological

France 6 style, formality, logical organization,

preparation, ability to deal with tough

a present yourself = come across

b lose interest = switch off

c be appreciated = go down well

d try to impress = show off

e like = go for

f repeat = go through

g maintain = keep up

h manage without = do without

5 Students’ own answers

b We’ve unofficially been given the go-ahead.

c Several options are currently being considered

d It was generally felt that the project was taking too long

e It was unanimously agreed that the proposal required further discussion

f The new software has been thoroughly tested

g The plant closure will be formally announced next week

h The training budget has been provisionally okay’d

i It was tentatively suggested that we could import the raw materials

2

b It was assumed that this would be accepted

c It was stated quite clearly in the contract that payments must be made on the first of the month

d It was presumed that current health and safety regulations would be complied with

3

I’ve decided to hold an interdepartmental meeting every month from now on In this way, you’ll be able to meet and bring each other up to speed on recent developments in other departments You’ll also get the chance to exchange views on various matters relating to overall corporate strategy

I’ve pencilled in next Thursday for the first meeting

Look forward to seeing you there

c Main product features

• weighs just over 1lb/450g

• fits easily into a coat pocket

• assembles in under 45 seconds

• offers 35 different exercises

d You can exercise anywhere

e Students’ own answers

Extract 4

a Okay, to wrap things up The Micro-GYM (1) has been

fully costed – a complete breakdown (2) is included in

the report Product testing (3) is still being carried out,

but we would obviously need the go-ahead from you

before we proceed further with that The Micro-GYM

(4) would probably be reasonably priced at around $35

It (5) has been suggested that exercise demonstrations

(6) could be recorded on DVD and sold online Both

these suggestions would incur extra costs, but (7) are

currently being considered

Pitching your idea

Students’ own answers

Language links

Vocabulary

1

a We took

on too much work.

down a few details.

out a bank loan.

over the project.

b They came

through the recession.

across an accounting error.

into a lot of money.

under pressure to resign.

c She went

on to talk about training.

over the figures with us.

off the idea.

in hours of work on it.

off the meeting.

out a press release.

up most of the cash.

Getting out of the office

1 Students’ own answers

2

Extract 1

a It’s just the right thing on a chilly morning

b They only want to play for a couple of hours, and they’ve booked a table for lunch

c competitiveExtract 2

d We should be able to get around the course in a

couple of hours or so

e You must be wishing you had been teamed up with Max.

f I have been meaning to have a word with you about this disposal operation.

g I was wondering when you would get round to mentioning that.

4 Students’ own answers

Visiting someone’s home

1 Students’ own answers

2

Extract 1

a Yes, she got a bit lost coming off the ring road

b He’s been in the kitchen for a long time, working hard

c something to drink, or some dessertExtract 2

a The house needed a lot of building work doing

b It was almost ruined but now it’s okay

c a refillExtract 3

f working the room

6 & 7 Students’ own answers

A Hi, James Client meeting overran a bit, did it?

B Mm And Lucy and I stopped to have a coffee on the way back

A No idea It keeps crashing

B Well, have you tried asking Callum about it?

A Of course I have I’ve been trying to get through to him all morning But he’s like you, isn’t he? He’s never in!

B Mm, I hear Angela went mad about it

A Yeah, she practically accused me of being disloyal to the company! Can you believe it?

B Sounds like her

Phrase bank: Networking

Unit 10 Making decisions

1, 2, 3 & 4 Students’ own answers

Let me take your coat Oh, I brought you this

You shouldn’t have Come on through Oh, what a

fabulous apartment! Now, how about something to

drink? Make yourself at home

The meal

Dinner’s ready when you are Sit wherever you like

Now, there’s more duck if you want it And help yourself

to vegetables Mm, this is absolutely delicious! I’m glad

you like it You must let me have the recipe

Farewells

Well, I ought to be making a move soon You don’t have

to rush off just yet, do you? How about some more

coffee? Okay, just half a cup And then I really must be

going Thank you both for a lovely evening Next time

you must come to my place Take care now

a the ball is in their court

b jump to conclusions

c when it comes to the crunch

d sit on the fence

and stand by it.

c We need to take our time on this This whole issue

requires serious thought.

d I take it we unanimously agree that the main thing

is to safeguard the well-being of our personnel

e Well, then, I don’t see we have any alternative but to

give this proposal our complete support.

f I’d like your opinions on this before committing us to

any definite plan of action.

g I’m undecided about it And at this stage I don’t think we should make a decision.

h Well, in the absence of more reliable information,

I think I’m going to have to go with my intuition on

this one

Crisis management

1 Students’ own answers

2

McDonald’s crying over spilled coffee

In 1994 Stella Liebeck, a New Mexico grandmother,

ordered a coffee at a McDonald’s drive-through restaurant

Minutes later, sitting in her car in a car park, she

accidentally spilled the coffee – heated, in response to

customer preference, to a scalding 180ºF – and suffered

severe burns requiring surgery. A crisis was about to

unfold

When McDonald’s refused to take responsibility for paying

the woman’s medical bills, she went to an attorney and

sued the company At the trial the jury found McDonald’s

liable and awarded $200,000 in compensatory damages (less $40,000 for negligence on Liebeck’s part) and a

massive $2.7 million in punitive damages because of what they saw as McDonald’s unacceptably dismissive attitude.One might have expected the bad publicity to ruin

McDonald’s, but instead newspapers leapt to the company’s

defence, declaring what nonsense the court’s verdict

was ‘America has a victim complex,’ announced the San

Francisco Chronicle. The punitive damages were later

reduced by the judge to $480,000 and, while awaiting the

appeal, the parties made an out-of-court settlement for

an undisclosed sum But by then the ‘three million dollar

coffee-spill’ had already passed into corporate legend

a = 8, an = 3, the = 14; total = 25

6

(order of likelihood from more likely to less likely)

a You’ve a good chance

h There’s a fair chance

e You’re in with a chance

c There’s a 50–50 chance

i There’s an outside chance

d Your chances are slim

f The chances are remote

j It’s a million-to-one chance

b You don’t stand a chance

g You’ve blown your chances

k No chance!

7

a Your best bet is to shout and flap your coat at the

animal

b Do not in any circumstances try to stand up on the ice

c It’s a good idea to brake as soon as you’ve gained

control of the steering

d There’s not much point trying to force the door open

e By far the most sensible thing to do is to open the

car window

f Just grabbing on to the nearest person with a parachute

is not a smart move

g It’s a common mistake to think the shark’s nose is the

best area to target

h Don’t even think about jumping from a moving vehicle

i Resist the temptation to run from a mountain lion

j Put any ideas of playing dead out of your mind

k Make sure that the nose of the plane is six inches below

the horizon

l Take care to land on your back to avoid breaking it

m Forget about trapping air inside a sinking car

n You’d do much better to strike at the eyes or gills

8 Students’ own answers

The decision-making process

b local people losing their jobs

3 a neither Simon’s nor Matt’s

b yes

Language links Vocabulary

1

booming thrivinghealthy buoyantvolatile unpredictableweak sluggishflat depressed

In the automotive industry the trend for many years has

been towards a smaller, more economical vehicle So in the

autumn of 1997, Daimler-Benz introduced a new economy

model, the Mercedes ‘A Class’ It was a car designed to

compete with the ever-popular Volkswagen Golf But just

before the November launch, disaster struck.

A Swedish auto magazine had conducted what they called

an ‘elk test’ on the new car The test is standard in Sweden

to make sure cars can steer to avoid large deer crossing the

road But at just 60kph the ‘A Class’ overturned, injuring

both the test drivers A storm immediately blew up in

the press and on TV, as buyers waiting to take delivery

cancelled their orders For Mercedes it was not only a

financial but an image crisis too.

Daimler responded quickly, adding wider tyres, an

electronic stability mechanism and stronger anti-roll bars

– all at no extra cost to the customer A highly successful

advertising campaign and public support from Niki

Lauda, ex-formula one racing champion, helped to restore

consumer confidence in the ‘A Class’ but at a cost of

hundreds of millions of dollars

a +25% – how much the Dow is up; -13% – how much

Coke and Pepsi are down

b Untypically, Coke and Pepsi were both behind

the market

c nothing unusual

d The 200 cases are probably psychosomatic

e rivals Pepsi & Virgin Cola